Cap-and-trade fishing rules set to take effect

Cap and trade may be dead in relation to U.S. carbon emissions, but the Obama administration is moving ahead with a cap-and-trade policy for U.S. fisheries. On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's plan that encourages regional fishery managers to use "catch shares" in a bid to end overfishing and restore depleted stocks took effect, Allison Winter of Environment & Energy News reports. (Environmental Defense Fund Photo, Red Snapper)

"The purpose of this policy is to provide a strong foundation for the widespread consideration of catch shares, which have proven to be an effective tool to help rebuild fisheries," said Monica Medina, NOAA's principal deputy undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere. The policy imposes "an overall catch limit and divides the total catch among buyers," Winter writes. "Six fishery management councils are already using catch shares to manage 14 fisheries."

"Catch-share advocates say catch shares halt the 'race for fish' encouraged by traditional fishery-management systems that set daily or seasonal catch limits or open fisheries for limited periods," Winter writes. "Critics of the conventional schemes say they encourage fishing vessels to race to haul in the most fish possible before a fishery closes." Studies published last year in the journals Science and Nature reported catch shares can increase the abundance of fish and cut the fishery collapse rate in half. (Read more, subscription required)